Engine starting mechanism



March 27, 1934. R, P, LANSXN@ 1952,26

ENGINE START T. NG MEGHANI SM Filed cm., so, 19:51.

Patented Mar. 27, 1934 ENGINE STARTHNG MECHANISM Raymond P. Lansing, Montclair, N. J., assignor,

by mesne assignments, to

Eclipse Aviation Corporation, East Orange, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application ctober 30,

8 Claims.

This invention relates to starting mechanism for internal combustion engines and more particularly to engine starters of the inertia type.

An object of the invention is to provide novel means for controlling the energization of the inertia member and establishment of driving con- -nection between the inertia member and the engine to be started.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel unitary mechanism for controlling both the energization and connecting functions above referred to.

A further object is to provide unitary energizing and connecting or meshing mechanism of the foregoing character constructed and disposed in such a manner as to make it possible to mount the same within or upon the starter housing, and in proximity to the electric motor or other power unit of the starter.

Other objects and advantages to be derived from the use of the invention herein disclosed reside in the interrelation and method of operation of the parts and will become apparent upon an inspection of the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein the preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed. It is to be understood, however, that the drawing is for .the purpose of illustration only and is not designed as a dention of the limits of the invention, reference being had for such purpose to the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a central vertical section through a device embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a View in elevation taken at right angles' to the viewpoint of Fig. 1, but showing only certain of -the parts to which the novel features of the' present invention are applied; and

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of the parts shown in Fig. 2.

'I'he novel engaging, or meshing, mechanism of the present invention is illustrated in combination with an inertia starter, which, in the form shown, comprises a housing constituted by an inner sec'- tion 4, a. central section 5, and an outer section 6.

1931, Seriai No. 572,211

flanges or lugs provided on the adjacent ends of said sections. f

Describing the inertia means, the same comprises a flywheel having operating connections with the prime mover which is here shown as an electric motor 13, such inertia means being contained within and supported by a casing 14` which is secured rto the casing section 5 in suitable manner as by means of screws 18 engaging flange 19 of the section 5. The flywheel com prises a rim 2l having the predetermined or desired mass or weight, a web 22 and a depending hub 23. This hub has its bearings in the bottom plate 25 of the casing 14 and is drivably secured, as by a key 26, to the hub of pinion 27 which meshes with the crown gear 28. This pinion 27 and the hub 23 are held together in assembled position by the rod 30.

The prime mover 13 is secured to the casing 14 in suitable manner as by screws 32, and the same has an extended armature shaft 33 provided with a screw threaded portion 34. Upon this threaded portion there is threaded a nu* 35 provided with clutch jaws 36 adapted to engage corresponding clutch jaws 37 cooperating with the flywheel 2l and here shown as a part of a ring 40 secured to the web 22 of the flywheel by suitable pins or rivets 41.

Next referring to the reduction gearing, the same is contained within the main casing section 5- and comprises preferably a main stationary internal gear 44 secured by screws 45 to the casing 4, and with the same meshes a series of three planetary gears 46 which are journaled between two parallel plates 47 and 48. These plates are spaced apart by suitable lugs on adjacent faces of these two plates and the same are held together by screws 49. The inner plate 47 may be connected with the driving barrel 50 in suitable manner, but in the present instance theI same is integral therewith. This plate 47 has a hub adapted to receive the left hand end of the shaft 53 whereby such shaft and plate are detachably connected and the shaft is adapted to drive the plate and its attached gearing.

The pinions 46 mesh with a central pinion which is shown and by preference is formed as a part of the hub 55 of a gear 56 mounted to rotate freely upon the shaft 53 with the aid of a bearing 57. This gear meshes with the gear 28, through the intermediate pinion 58, shown as integral with gear 28, and mounted on an intermediate shaft 59 rotatably supported at both ends in bearings provided in opposite walls of the housing 5.

The right hand end of the shaft 53 is journaled in bearings 60 in the casing plate 61 and extends therethrough and to such projecting end a bevel. pinion 62 is secured. This pinion forms a part of the manual means and the same extends into a small casing 64 secured by screws 65 to the casing plate 61. In addition to this pinion 62 the manual means consists of a cranking shaft 67 extending exteriorly of the casing 64 and thereat provided with suitable means, as the pin 69, for engagement with an ordinary handcrank. This cranking shaft 67 is journaled in ball bearings 70 within the casing 64, and the same is held in proper position longitudinally by the nut 73 and collar 74. The shaft is provided at its inner end with a. bevel pinion 75 meshing with the corresponding pinion 62.

When the flywheel 21 has been accelerated sufciently to accumulate therein the required amount of energy, the same may be delivered to the engine member to be rotated through the instrumentality of driving mechanism provided for this purpose and preferably includes a clutch jaw 78 drivably conected to the engine shaft or an extension thereof, which jaw is adapted to be engaged by a similar jaw 79 driven from the flywheel. Normally jaw 79 is maintained out of driving engagement with jaw 78 by means now to be described.

The means preferably employed for drivably connecting the clutch jaw 79 with the flywheel 2l are of a yielding character whereby slippage may occur between said jaw member and flywheel when the jaws 79 and '78 are drivably engaged, and until the engine crankshaft has been brought up to the speed of jaw 79. In the form shown, the yielding means is constituted by a friction clutch of the multiple disc type comprising a plurality of annular discs 81 which are alternately splined to the inner surface of barrel 50 and to the outer surface of an interiorly threaded nut 82, and positioned between a flange 83 formed on the outer surface of nut 82 intermediate its end and the closed end 47 of barrel 50. Suitable adjustable yielding means are provided for holding nut 82 in operative position with respect to discs 81 and barrel 50, and for varying the frictional engagement of said discs. In the form shown, the yielding means comprise a plurality of coil springs 84 extending longitudinally within the barrel with their outer ends having operative engagement with flange 83 and their inner ends exerting a thrust against the annular ring 86 mounted with the barrel and provided with a plurality of laterally projecting studs 87 which extend intor the coils of springs, thereby maintaining them in proper spaced relation within the barrel. An adjusting nut 88 is threaded into the open end of the barrel, and has abutting engagement with the inner face of ring 86. By adjusting the position of nut 88 longitudinally of barrel 50, the compression of springs 484 may be changed to vary the pressure with which the clutch discs 81 are engaged.

Exteriorly threaded on the inner end of barrel 50 is a retaining ring 90 for the adjacent bearing 91. Ring 90 may be locked in position by means of a wire, one end of which passes through said ring and engages one of a plurality of longitudinal slots formed in the inner end of barrel 50, said ring being adapted to coact with a shoulder 94 formed on the outer end of the barrel and having engagement with-the inner race of outer bearing 95, to prevent endwise movement of the barrel relative to the inner housing section.

Positioned within nut 82 is an exteriorly threaded shaft 96 adapted for rotary and longitudinal movement relative to said nut. The outer end of said shaft is provided with suitable means such as a nut 97 adapted to engage a shoulder formed interiorly of nut 82 to limit longitudinal movement of the shaft to the left as viewed in the drawing. 'Ihe inner end of shaft 96 is longitudinally splined and extends into the correspondingly splined hub portion 99 of engineengaging member 79, whereby these parts have positive driving engagement but are also adapted for relative longitudinal movement. A coil spring 100 which preferably has its outer end extending into a recess formed in the inner end of shaft 96 is interposed between said shaft and the outer face of engine-engaging member 79, and yieldingly resists movement of said member toward the shaft.

In so far as the present invention is concerned, the particular construction of the reduction gearing and the clutch mean-s, and also the power means and driving connection between the flywheel and reduction means, is immaterial; but the construction above described is very practical and useful for the purpose intended. There remains to be described the novel unitary mechanism for establishing driving connection between the members 78 and 79 and at the same time automatically energizing the motor 13. As illustrated, such unitary mechanism comprises a structure mounted partly within and partly upon the starter housing and includes a manually operable mechanism operative to mesh the member 79 with the member 78, through the intermediary of .a concentrically disposed rod 103 which slidably extends through jaw 79, threaded shaft 96, and cranking shaft section 53. Intermediate its ends, rod 103 is provided with a shoulder 104 which normally bears against the outer end of threaded shaft 96. The inner end of rod 103 extends loosely through a central opening in jaw 79, and threaded onto said inner end is a nut 105 which abuts against the inner face of the hub of said jaw. The outer end of rod 103 is provided with means 112 for pivotally receiving the slotted end 113 of a lever 114, the opposite end of which is pivoted to a rock shaft 116, journaled in the housing. Around shaft 116 is coiled a torsion spring 117, shown best in Figs. 2 and 3, one end 118 of which acts upon the lever 114 and rod 103 to tend to maintain them in the position shown in Fig. 1, the other end 119 being engageable with the inner surface of the housing, which thus takes the reaction of the spring.

Fixedly mounted on the rock shaft 116 is-a bell crank 120, the outer ends of which are apertured as indicated at 121, for reception of a link or other means for manual actuation. Keyed to the rock shaft 116 is a third lever or striker piece 122 movable with the shaft and having its lower end adapted to contact a plunger 123, to the opposite end of which is secured a switch plate 124 having obliquely disposed surfaces 125 and 126 adapted to cooperate with the electric contacts 127 and 128 respectively, and thereby close the circuit to the motor 13. A coiled spring 129 surrounds the plunger 123 and exerts a pressure on the pin 130 which normally maintains the plunger in the circuit open position, and is compressed only upon actuation of the opposing lever 122. The opposite end of the coil spring'has an abutment upon the collar 132, the latter constituting a guide for the plunger 123 and being held in place on the housing by a disc 133 interposed between the cover plate .134 and the flattened surface 135 of the housing.

To operate thestarter, the circuit through the switch 124 is closed by manually rocking bell crank 120, shaft 116, and striker lever 122 keyed to the said shaft 116 as above noted in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1. It should be noted parenthetically that the lever 114 does not participate in this counter-clockwise rocking of the shaft 116 and striker lever 122, as the engagement of nut 105 with the member 79 acts through the rod 103 to prevent any such movement ofthe lever 114, and therefore the rock shaft 116 merely turns within the apertured end of lever 114 without moving the latter, the pivotal mounting of the lever on the rock shaft being such as to permit this relative movement, in contrast to the interlocked condition which exists as between rock shaft 116 and the striker lever 122 by reason of the keyed connection therebetween. fI'he resulting current through motor 13 functions to mesh the jaw 35 with the flywheel jaw 37, and rotate the flywheel thus transmitting torque through the gearing above described to the barrel50 and screw shaft 95. Due to the gear reduction, however, the rotary speed of the screw shaft 96 will be comparatively low and screw shaft 9S will merely rotate without being advanced toward the engine member 78. When suicient energy has been stored 'm the flywheel 21 as a result of the continued rotation thereof through the driving connections 35 and 37, the operator imparts a clockwise oscillation to the bell crank 121. This is effective to actuate the striker lever 122. also in a clockwise direction. Such release of the pressure on the end of the plunger 123 allows spring 129 to open the circuit Vthrough the switch 125, thereby deenergizing the motor. At the same time the lever 113 will be pressed by striker 122 in a clockwise direction, thereby overcoming the resistance of spring 117 and causing a corresponding movement of the rod 103 to the left. By reason of the pressure thus exerted on the rod 103 and transmitted to the screw shaft 96 by wayof shoulder'104, the screw shaft 96 will be advanced to the left thereby moving the clutch jaws 79 and 78 into engagement. vThereupon the torque exerted through the driving connection thus established will be effective to turn over the engine crankshaft suficiently to cause starting of the engine under its own power. When this occurs the driving member will be automatically disengaged from the associated engine member 78 by reason of the tendency of the member 79 to be driven, which tendency results in the return of the member 79 to the normal or demeshed position shown in Fig. 1, as soon as the operator releases the pressure on bell crank 121 and thereby renders spring 117 effective to return -rod 103, and with it the members 79 and 96.

There is thus disclosed an engine starting mechanism of the power actuated type in which the unitary mechanism is compact and is provided with means for placing the motor energizing and meshing means under the control of a single manually operable member so disposed with respect to the parts controlled thereby as to produce an eflicient and positively operating mechanism in which there is an economy both in space occupied and in the number of parts employed. Moreover the construction is such as to render it unnecessary to employ parts of complex construction which might require frequent inspection or attention to maintain proper operation.

While the construction herein illustrated has practical advantages as above set forth, it is to be understood that the invention is susceptible of a certain amount of latitude within the scope of the appended claims in the matter of design and arrangement of the component parts. Reference is therefore to be had to the appended claims for a definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An engine starting mechanism including a driving mechanism adapted to engage and crank a member of the engine to be started, an inertia member operatively connected to said driving member, an electric motor adapted to actuate said inertia member, means including a rod operatively connected to said driving member controlling the establishment of driving engagement between said driving and engine member, a switch controlling the energization of said motor, a housing on which all of said elements are mounted, and means within said housing for actuating both said switch and said rod, said means comprising a pair of levers pivoted for different degrees of 4 oscillation about a common axis, one of said levers being movable to close said switch and the other being effective to move said rod only upon a return movement of said rst named lever.

2. An engine starting mechanism including a driving mechanism adapted to engage and crank a member of the engine to be started, an inertia member operatively connected to said driving member, an electric motor adapted to actuate said inertia member, means including a rod operatively connected to said driving member controlling the establishment of driving engagement between said driving and engine members, a switch controlling the energization of said motor, a housing on which all of said elements are mounted, means within said housing for actuating both said switch and said rod, said means comprising a rock shaft journalled in said housing and a pair of levers pivoted for oscillation about said rock shaft one of said levers being keyed to said rock shaft and engageable with said switch and the other being engageable by the first, to move said rod only after a predetermined degree of oscillation of said first lever, and resilient means normally maintaining both said switch and said rod in inoperative position.

3. An engine starting mechanism including a driving member adapted to engage and crank a member of the engine to be started, an electric motor adapted to develop the energy for cranking said engine member through said driving member, a switch controlling energization of said motor, and means for closing said switch prior to any movement whatever of said engine engaging member, said means comprising a pair of relatively movable levers, one of said levers being movable to close said switch and the other being effective to move said driving member into engine engaging position only upon a return movement of said flrst named lever.

4. An engine starting mechanism including a drivingmember adapted to engage and crank a member of the engine to be started, an electric motor adapted to develop energy for cranking said engine member through said driving member, means including a longitudinally movable part for establishing driving connection between said driving member and said engine member, a switch controlling energization of said motor, and means for closing said switch prior to actuating said part in either direction, said last named means comprising a pair of relatively movable levers, one of which is movable to close said switch and the other of which is acted upon by the first only upon return movement of the latter.

5. An engine starting mechanism including a driving member adapted to engage and crank a member of the engine to be started, an electric motor adapted to actuate said driving member, means including a longitudinally movable part for establishing driving connection between said driving member and said engine member, a switch controlling energization o1 said motor, and unitary meansior selectively actuating said switch and longitudinally movable part, said last named means comprising a pair of relatively movable levers, one of which is movable to close said switch and the other of which is acted upon by the ifirsty only upon return movement of the latter.

6. An engine starting mechanism including a driving member adapted to move and crank a member of the cngineto be started, an electric motor adapted to develop the energy for cranking said engine member through said driving member, a switch controlling said motor, and means including a longitudinally movable rod for establishing driving connection between said driving and engine members, said means also including a pair of levers pivoted for oscillation about a common axis, one of said levers being engageable with said switch and thereafter engageable with the other lever to cause longitudinal movement of said rod.

7. An engine starting mechanism comprising a self-contained unit including a driving member adapted to crank a member of the engine to be started, `an electric motor adapted to develop energy for cranking said engine member through said driving member, means including a longitudinally movable part for establishing driving connection between said driving member and said engine member, a switch controlling energization of said motor, and means for selectively actuating said switch and part, said means comprising a pair of levers pivoted for oscillation about a common axis, one of said levers being engageable with said switch and thereafter engageable with the other lever to actuate said longitudinally movable part.

8. An engine starting mechanism comprising a self-contained unit including a driving member adapted to crank a member of the engine to be started, Van electric motor adapted to develop energy for cranking said engine member through said driving member, a circuit to said motor having a normally open switch therein, said normally open switch being closable at the will of the operator to energize said motor, a pair of relatively movable parts adjacent said switch, one of said parts being operatively connected to said driving member to cause the latter to mesh with said engine member, and means for moving the other of said parts to close said switch prior to any movement of the rst named part, said second named part being thereafter engageable with the rst named part to actuate the latter and thereby produce a corresponding movement of said driving member.

RAYMOND P. LANSING. 

